Baking Inspiration: Unicorns and such

Last week my hubby asked our goddaughter what kind of cake she wanted for her birthday and she replied, "I want a chocolate cake with white on top and a pony, horsey, unicorn, and a castle on it."  Yikes, I have my work cut out for me this week.  I'm on a search for some serious cake inspiration.

Here's what I got so far:

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D23: I must confess I'm a total Disney geek...

...well let me rephrase, as my mom would discribes it I have a love affair with "the" Mouse.   I'm not exactly sure when I began to love Disney so much but somewhere along the line it happened.  I bet what you're thinking now this girl must be one of those annual pass holders that goes into the park and spends all her day pin trading or an all around Disney freak but I'm far from that.

What I am is a Disney fan who used to be a cast member that devoted almost 10 years of her life to the Mouse (I quit to focus on my education).  I visit Disneyland about twice a year, I've been to Disney World once in 2006, and I'm planning on visiting Disneyland Paris next month since I'll be in Europe.  My apartment is not decorated with Disney stuff and the only clothing I have that has a Disney logo on it are my old Disney VoluntEARS t-shirts.  As a matter of fact unless I tell people directly about my love for the Mouse they don't have a clue.  Maybe later on I'll share with you some of the magic that I got to create when I worked there.  Yes, you heard me right MAGIC!

So, why exactly am I telling you this?  I'm doing it because I want to be more transparent and because I wanted to share with you some photos of our visit to the D23 expo.

The hubby surprised me back in April with tickets to the event and you bet I was extremely excited.  We only got tickets for one day and after being there all day I realized why people get the weekend ones.  It really was so much fun even for non Disney fans.  There was a lot of painting, exhibits, and things to do.

Isn't Tow Mater adorable? He's so darn cute I couldn't help but take a picture of him.

This was very creative.  I wonder if he's going to be walking around with Jack on Halloween. 

How cool would it be to go on a Cruise on board the new Disney Fantasy?  I'm hoping to convince the hubby to take me on one sometime soon. 

They had a section of the expo dedicated to Disney parties and cakes.  The cakes they had came from their officially licensed partner Cakes.com.  

Isn't this Mickey and Minnie cake adorable?

I love this Woody and Buzz cake. 

If you would like to see more of my photos from the D23 expo please visit me at Flickr!

Baking Inspiration: Disney/Pixar Car Cakes

My friend recently asked me if I would make her son's 3rd birthday cake.  So, what do you think I replied? I sure would! She told me that they invited 100 people and that their theme was Disney/Pixar Cars.  Another thing she mentioned is that she would like a chocolate and Vanilla Cake.  With all this in mind my task this week is to create a fantastic cake that will get the approval of a bunch of 3 year olds.  Tonight I'm going to re watch the movie with my hubby and try to find inspiration from other sites.

Here is what I've found so far:

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Sweets: Strawberry & Cream Cake

Last May I was fortunate enough to have my mama visiting for Mother's Day.  I had never made my mama a cake before so I really wanted to impress her.  Since she isn't fond of chocolate I opted for a strawberry one instead.  

Argroves Manor Coffee Cake (Cake 7)

I'm going to begin by saying that this has been my least favorite cake so far.  

Things new to me: 
Stewing fruit  

What I learned from baking this cake:
When it looks like you're mixing in too much fruit with the batter it probably is too much, I learned that the hard way. 

Like I said before I really didn't care for this cake and neither did my hubby.  I think that the taste was affected by the amount of fruit it called for.  It made the cake soggy since everything sank to the bottom.  I was hoping that this blueberry cake would be tastier but I was disappointed. I didn't share this cake with any of my family or friends since I did't like it. 

The Barefoot Contessa's Sour Cream Coffee Cake...(Cake 6)

When I read that I was going to be making a cake from the Barefoot Contessa I got giddy!  Ina Garden does an amazing job on her cooking show that I couldn't wait to try her recipe.  

Things new to me:
Cake Flour (I had used it previously in another cake but I'm still learning about it)
Real Maple Syrup 


What I learned from this cake:
Sifting flour together is not necessary according to Melissa Gray but I did it anyways
Butter melts faster when your trying to mix the streusel with your fingers


My hubby tried the cake after I had sent it to my aunts house and he was disappointed that I had only left him a small piece. Needless to say my hubby loved it but I think so far he's loved all the cakes I've made. My aunt and cousins, who had no idea I'm on a baking journey, raved on about this cake.  I thought this cake was really good but I guess I'll let you be the judge of that.




I had never bought real maple syrup before and I have to say that it was expensive but it was worth it.  (I guess I'm going to have to make pancakes for the hubby this weekend to use some of it up.)  The real maple syrup combined with the confectioners sugar made such a nice but not too sweet frosting. 




Here's the recipe so you can try it for yourself:


For the cake:

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the glaze:

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup

A 10-inch tube pan

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. 

• Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. 

• For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired. 

• Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. 

• Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

• Enjoy!

Please let me know how it turns out! 

Procrastinatin' Drunken Monkey Banana Bread...(Cake 5)

The name should say it all.  This cake was a a twist to the banana nut bread I'm used to.  When I first read that it required rum and cherries I was a tad confused but once I tasted it I knew there was no other way to make this cake.

Things new to me:
Dark Rum
Dried Cherries

What I learned from this cake:
I learned how to plump cherries with rum and boy was it fun and easy.

I shared this cake with our friends and they went bananas for it. (Pun intended! Ha Ha)  In all seriousness though this cake came out extremely moist and the fruit made it sweet but not overwhelming.  I used to have a great banana bread recipe but after making this one I won't be going back to it.

This cake by far has been my favorite one and I can't wait to make it again.  My hubby loves bananas so you can just imagine how he felt about this one. This cake gets a two thumbs up from both of us.

Do you have a banana nut bread recipe you would like to share with me?

Key Lime Cake...(Cake 4)

This cake was simple but delicious.  I love lemons and limes so I thought this cake was perfect.  The only I didn't like about this cake is that the recipe makes only a 8-inch cake.  We shared this one with my in-laws. 


Things new to me:
Key lime


What I learned from this recipe:
Pocking holes in a cake shouldn't be done with a knife
Double check ingredients to make sure you don't run out during baking process


I ran out of confectioners sugar and ended up using less of the glaze than it called for.

So what did everyone think about this cake...

...they thought it was perfect because it was not overwhelmingly tangy.  My hubby loved it because he prefers cakes that don't have frosting and so does my mother-in-law.  I thought it was a delicate cake that you can have with tea.

Missy G's Sweet Potato Pound Cake...(Cake 3)

I would have never thought to put sweet potato in a cake but oh man is it tasty.  I called my mom up to ask her how she cooked sweet potatoes and to my surprise it was the same way Melissa's mom told her to.  My mom informed me that my dad loves sweet potatoes (also known as camotes) and that she makes them for him at least every other week during the winter.  Once I confirmed how to bake them I began my task.  For this recipe you need to get begin early because you need to first cook and cool the sweet potatoes before mixing it in with the rest of the ingredients.   I used the methods that Melissa previously mentioned about being patient while creaming the butter and mixing in the rest of the ingredients thoroughly.  I also made sure to center the 10-inch tube pan in the oven and not the actual rack.

Things new to me:
Sweet potatoes
Maple flavoring
Granny Smith apples

I had never used maple flavoring before or worked with apples.

What I learned from this recipe:
Patience

I was too impatient and when I attempted to flip the cake it broke.  Oops.  Since we had already called my in-laws and told we were brining cake I used confectioners sugar to cover some of my mistake. Normally I would have just baked another cake and taken that one but since I am turning over a new league and trying to be less of a perfectionist I took it anyway.

So what did my in-laws think about this cake...

..they loved it.  My hubby thought that this cake was good but not great.  I thought it was surprisingly good.

The recipe for this cake can be found here.

The Man Catcher...(Cake 1)

The name of this cake was funny to me but not so much to my hubby who said, "Why do you need to catch a man?"  To which I replied, "I don't need to catch one I need to know how to keep one." So I told him I would rename it if I could to the man keeper.



When I began reading through this recipe I realized that by taking the challenge on of baking all these recipes one every week I was going to find myself purchasing ingredients I had never used before.

Things new to me:
Lemon extract
Orange extract
Tube Pan

What I learned from this recipe:
Patience
How to cream/mix butter/ ingredients properly

I'm not kidding I realized that I was the type of person Melissa Gray jokes about that keeps opening the oven door thinking that is going to speed the baking process along. I also learned along with my patience that taking the time to cream the butter makes a lot of sense.  I think that if I owned a stand mixer my task would have been easier but since I'm the frugal type and I don't have one of those fancy Kitchen Aid mixers I just used my hand held one.

Okay so I began to prepare for the big day when I was going to start baking I had to decide who my first victims (oops I meant to say tasters) were going to be. Since my hubby and I have game night with some of our friends on Wednesday nights I decided to take it along to share with them.

So after I baked my heart away what did the boys have to say...

...delicious. Well they really didn't say anything but I didn't have any leftovers to bring home so I'll take that as delicious. My hubby did say that he loved how sweet and citricy (is that a word) it was.

So the verdict was that the Man Catcher-Sour Cream Pound Cake was a big hit!  I had never used sour cream in my baking experience or had ever made a pound cake but I did both and it was amazing.

You can find the recipe here

The Wedding is Over and Now What...

Now that I no longer have to spend my nights diy items for the wedding I seem to have more times to myself and for my hubby.  Many people told me that there was going to be avoid and I wondered to myself if this was going to be true.  I began my fall quarter shortly after the wedding and that filled up some of my time but not all of it.  One of the things that has filled up my time is baking. I love to bake! I'm not a pastry chef by any means but I love every minute of it.

On el dia de los Reyes Magos which falls on January 6th my hubby surprised me with a book I wanted.  He got me All Cakes Considered a book that one of the producers from NPR, Melissa Gray wrote.  As I began to read it I was becoming more excited about all the baking possibilities and who besides my hubby I was going to share all the deliciousness with.  Melissa Gray writes that she shared her pastries with the staff of All Things Considered I mean the hubby and I love to eat but eating everything ourselves that's just nuts. I don't work so I don't have co-workers to share it with but I do have friends and family which is what I've been doing.  So far I have baked 5 cakes from the book and now I have decided to share them with you.

Note: I will not be posting the recipes here because I really think getting the book is worth it.